POLITICS IN HIS VEINS

By Celia Cohen
Grapevine Political Writer

Whaddaya know, you can get blood from a politician.

Only U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper would send out a
press release about it, though.

The press release preceded Carper's visit Monday
morning to the Blood Bank of Delmarva, located in Newark
across from the Christiana Hospital. It invited
reporters to watch that rarest of events -- a politician
making a donation.

It turns out that Carper really is a red-blooded
American.

Carper, a Democratic governor-turned-senator who is
up for election next year, had a good excuse for seeking
publicity. He signed up to be the first participant in
the Blood Bank's Summer Blood Challenge, an event begun
in 2003 to encourage donations during the season when
the blood supply usually drops off as people leave town
for vacations.

"It's good being first," Carper said.

The Summer Blood Challenge is a competition for
employers with points awarded each time their workers
give blood, become new Blood Bank members or race on
July 23 in the Blood Bank's 5K as a runner or walker. As
of Monday, more than 40 groups were participating,
Carper's Senate office among them.

If you hold a contest, Carper will come. His
competitive streak is right up there with his winning
streak, his record of 11 statewide victories unmatched
in Delaware politics. At 58, Carper's fire still has him
running the Caesar Rodney Half-Marathon, a 13.1-mile
course that is Delaware's premier road race.

Not all of Carper's Blood Bank session was open to
the press. He did not waive confidentiality for the
standard pre-donation interview, which includes
questions about sexual activity, drug use and prison
time. If there is anything that his wife Martha needs to
know, she will not read it here.

Carper did disclose his blood type. Big surprise, he
is a Type A. Not only that, he is a Type A positive.

Carper's blood donation and press release may be apt
for his next campaign. The Republicans are thinking of
running state Sen. Colin R.J. Bonini against him.
Earlier this year Bonini, a 40-year-old Dover
Republican, sent out a press release when he went on a
diet.

Bonini, like Carper, said he was doing it for a good
cause, in his case asking for pledges to the Kent County
SPCA for every pound he dropped. He conceded, however,
that he needed to lose 100 pounds if he wanted to run
for statewide office.

Carper and Bonini could give a whole new meaning to
the body politic.

Maybe there is a message here, too. A Republican will
cut out the fat, but a Democrat will give blood.